Ben Settle

The world’s simplest marketing plan

In today’s “meat & potatoes” Ben Settle Show, Producer Jonathan and I wrestle over such complicated concepts as:

• Why a certain 8-figure business studies my business model.

• Why I don’t take coaching students on (with one exception)… and why you wouldn’t want to be a coaching student of mine anyway.

• 5 steps to running a simple “steak and eggs” online business that pays you lots of money with minimal time investment.

• A simple diet (created by an old school body builder) that quickly melted a bunch of fat off my righteous bootay.

• The one time it makes zero sense to “test” anything in your marketing (despite what people who profit off of making things complicated will tell you).

• Why I don’t trust Google’s testing software.

• What a professional statician says about testing online. (And why guys like him laugh at a lot of people online bragging about their so-called tests.)

• A sales letter structure that is so simple even a raw newbie can do it, yet so effective even 15+ year copywriting veterans profit from it.

• When you don’t need to tell a story in your ads.

• Why the wealthiest businesses build pipelines instead of carrying buckets. (This is straight from one of the world’s most respected and successful financial authors & coaches.)

• And lots mo’…

Download today’s show here:

www.BenSettleShow.com/antipreneur

Ben Settle

Not long ago I had a brief discussion with one of my business partners (I have a lot of bid’niz partners these days) who admitted:

“I’m Ben Settle-izing my business this year.”

Now, this bloke is already very successful.

Already makes lots of the green stuff.

And, is one of the top marketing minds I ever done met.

Still, there is something about the sheer simplicity of how I’ve set up my business (and how I advise newbies to set theirs up) that, I guess, is attractive to the overworked marketer who wants to free up more of this precious commodity we all know of as “time.”

Well, guess what?

I have heard everyone’s cries about this.

And, I am granting mercy on them.

Here’s how:

Tomorrow’s “Ben Settle Show” podcast is about what I consider to be one of the world’s simplest marketing plans broken down into 5-steps.

I did not “invent” any of these steps.

I picked them up from various people.

If I did anything, I simply put them all together.

(For my own benefit, not yours, but now you get to benefit from it if’n you are so inclined…)

It’ll be posted tomorrow.

Until then, download past episodes here:

www.BenSettleShow.com/antipreneur

Ben Settle

Comes a website reader question:

“you talk about invester mindset and opportunity mindset alot. what is the difference? I think I know what you mean but can you give an example of a investor mind? Thanks.”

Why, yes, I can.

In fact, here’s a recent example:

In the private Flakebook group Ryan Healy and I have for our *paying* customers, “Email Players” subscriber Nicholas Lal said:

“My theory is if you can learn one thing that you can implement in your business it always covers the cost. One issue of Ben Settle’s newsletter and I created my own solo ads business. That makes me a subscriber for life.”

Pretty self explanatory, no?

What?

You want a side-by-side comparison of the mindsets?

Okay:

Last August I got two very different bits of feedback to that month’s “Email Players” issue. One was from someone very active on the Warrior Forum (over 2,000 posts). The other, Pete Godfrey — one of Australia’s top copywriting and marketing minds, who commands $30k for a spot in his private coaching group.

Warrior Forum guy’s comment?

A snarky “this wasn’t worth $97…”

And Pete?

A note saying how much he enjoyed that issue.

The former haunts the Warrior Forum, complains about the info (without even implementing), and (gasp!) cancelled within a couple weeks. The latter is a world famous and widely respected copywriter, marketing strategist, speaker, and author who’s been subscribed to “Email Players” for 3 straight years.

One guy snarks, doesn’t implement, and quits.

The other implements, profits, and keeps using the info.

’nuff said.

I’ll leave you with this:

As you can see, my “Email Players” newsletter ain’t for the opportunity-minded. Frankly, it does them zero good. And is a waste of their money and time.

But the investor-minded?

Well, they make out like bandits with it.

Subscription info here:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

An admission:

A lot of times I write about increasing sales. Sales being the whole purpose of marketing, after all (in my way of thinking at least). No sales, you got no business, my little droogling. Thus, I’m all about getting your sales up in my products. But, even MORE important is something nary a goo-roo utters:

Balance.

In time, money, energy, etc.

Take what my friend and Facebook ads guy Shane Hunter said recently:

(In a private Facebook group)

“To me – the most important outcome has a ton of variables. Freedom, Inner Peace, Happiness, then Money. Ironically, operating in this order allows me to serve more people – and make a ton more money than when I had those priorities in different configurations….money over freedom, peace of mind, and happiness.”

Agreed.

That’s why I do things like make it less attractive to opt-in.

(With barriers up.)

Or run repulsion marketing in my emails/ads.

Or have no refund policy.

Or don’t use gimmicks like count down timers or phony scarcity to get people emotionally excited (temporarily) just to get a sale.

Yes, I like sales.

But, they gotta be the right *kind* of sales.

I’m far more interested in balance, not bullshit.

Fun, not foolishness.

And, having a low quantity of high quality customers vs high quantities of low quality customers. (i.e. I’d much rather have 4 clean and shiny quarters in my pocket than 100 dirty, sticky, burdensome pennies.)

More:

My peace, happiness, and prosperity “trickles down” to you.

I call it “trickle-down Ben-o-nomics.”

For example:

If I’m all bound up in stress, anxiety, and fight or flight emotions because I’m bringing the wrong customers in, or chasing after money all day and not enjoying life (and, thus, have no balance), not only do I make less overall money… but I create a substandard product, and hate my work. That’s why the more successful I am, the better my products… the more sales they’ll make my customers… and, the more they’ll improve those customers’ lives.

Anyway, want balance in your business?

Then check out my “Email Players” newsletter.

My system can get you balance.

(And, a ho bunch mo’)

Subscription info here:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

Here’s a “timely” story:

After last Sunday’s “Ben Settle Show” podcast (where I talked about paying yourself in terms of time amongst other things), a dude told me about his adventures at a IM seminar once. Apparently, a bunch of people were going to eat during a break at a restaurant a mile or so away from the seminar. And, when they walked outside everyone whipped out their phones and fiddled with their Uber apps. Uber, of course, being the newest bright shiny object for transportation. Apparently, it’s better, faster, and cheaper than Taxis and, well, everyone’s doing it, so it must be the thing to do, right?

Well, not so fast, Chachi.

In this case, it was the opposite.

This person said they all waited some 15 minutes or so for someone from Uber to pick them up, yet there were 3 fat yellow Taxis right. in. the hotel. drive up. waiting there to take them anywhere they wanted to go.

“But Uber is really cool and cheaper than taxis,” one of them said.

Sigh.

Look, I have nothing against Uber.

That’s not the point here.

The point is, here was this small crowd of successful Internet marketers who thought saving 80 cents or whatever was more valuable than their time. Yes, I know it was just 15 minutes. But it’s not the amount of time that’s the problem here, it’s the corrosive affect not valuing time has on people.

This mindset carries over into business, too.

I see it all the time.

Like people who spend weeks screwing with their wordpress instead of hiring it out to a trained pro to “save money.” Or the schlub who spends hours each month trying to do their own taxes and bookkeeping instead of having someone who’s versed in the ways of the IRS and audit/asset protection do the deed to, you know, “save money.” Or the newbie who changes his own oil, mows his own lawn, and sprays his own yard for bugs (instead of outsourcing these tasks to experts at these things) to, you know, “save money.”

And so on, and so forth.

All that time is gone.

Poof.

You’ll never see it again.

Unlike spent money, you cannot “make” back spent time.

You can only spend it.

And, when it’s gone, it’s ain’t returning.

Anyway, I know this falls on mostly deaf ears.

But, it’s the one or two people who take it to heart I care about.

The rest of y’all?

Well, go ahead.

Keep stepping over dollars to pick up pennies.

Those of us who value time will see you from the top…

One of the benefits of “Email Players” newsletter is, you can learn what’s taken me over a decade and Lord-knows-how-many failures, frustrations, and trial & error to make lots of sales with email in just 16-pages each month. All presented in a simple to use and easy to learn way you can immediately (the same day you get it) use to make lots of the green stuff.

Anyway, that’s that.

Subscription info here:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

I want to talk about yesterday’s “bull crap” email.

It was about how to tell if people are full of BS who you want to buy from or not. After I wrote that email, it dawned on me that it helps if you had been burned a lot early in life — when your young, impressionable mind was still forming opinions, judgements, and observations about your fellow kids on the playground and adults ruling over you.

Take my friend DB, for example.

We were best pals in 4th grade.

When he first moved to town, we hung out at school all the time and was always asking if I wanted to come over and hang at his house. Being a shut-in even at that age, I always declined. That is, until his beady, rat-like mind realized I was always playing tetherball on the school playground.

So he says, “My brother just installed a tetherball pole!”

I said “yippee!!”

And, made arrangements to go to his house one day.

That entire morning at school he kept talking about how his brother was out there patting the concrete down and making sure everything was cool with the tetherball and how much fun it was gonna be.

Long story short:

I go to his house.

But, there ain’t no tetherball.

In fact, there was nothing to do whatsoever.

“Where’s the f*&#@! tetherball?” I asked.

“…”

So he looks around and points over to a swing set. And he grabs the swing and starts pushing it towards me. “Well, we can play tether ball like this, you get on that side…”

“TF is wrong with you…”

(I don’t know if I said that exactly, but you get the gist…)

Anyway, it was the first of many cogs in my BS radar.

Moral of the story?

It’s like I said yesterday:

Assume everyone is full of crap until proven otherwise — even if they are super “persuasive” and tell you everything you want to hear.

I don’t care if it’s a big name guru.

Or a small name goo-roo.

Or, if someone’s running social proof on you.

We’re all full of crap until proven otherwise.

SPURN this advice at your peril…

You can read about my flagship product here:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Read the letter carefully, though. And, if you have even a doubt about it, don’t subscribe.

Get it?

Got it?

Good…

Ben Settle

This email has been a loooooong time coming…

Comes an often-asked question:

“ive sat in on so many webinars from different people just to lurk that my head is spinning..i would love someone to help me but unless i have lots of $$ it doesnt seem to be an option.. and then theres the others with new ones popping out of the woodwork everyday- all the ‘gooroos’ how is anyone ever supposed to figure out who is real and who isnt when they are sprouting like weeds on a daily basis..and i cannot believe that every single person is making 10 figures a day x 7 days a week selling the same stuff and doing IM-i mean really??”

My 100%-not-to-be-questioned answer:

Assume we’re ALL full of crap until proven otherwise.

Yes, even me.

(*Especially* me.)

• Don’t believe someone just because they attach themselves to a bunch of gurus and are always hanging around with them.

• Don’t believe someone just because they claim to have “test” data (data without context is completely irrelevant to you for a multitude of reasons — yes, others’ tests serve as useful beacons and idea-generators, but at the same time, for all you know they are lying or withholding info, plus one lists’ data isn’t going to magically translate to yours — too many intangibles, like positioning, list relationship, brand, offer, message-to-market-match, and the goo-roo band marches on…)

• Don’t believe someone because they shower their advertising with “proof.”

• Don’t believe someone if they are always showing you their lavish lifestyle (you’d be surprised how many people have a Mercedes in the driveway but no food in the fridge…)

• Don’t believe someone just because they take a position where they are the ones calling out the scams and nonsense perpetuated by gurus, goo-roos, etc. (like I do a lot).

• Don’t believe someone just because they’re a good copywriter or marketer.

• Don’t believe someone just because they’re a “rockstar” in your market and everyone faints like liberals at an Obama speech every time they tweet something.

• Don’t believe someone just because they’re blatantly honest about their flaws. (Called “candor” which is quite powerful in advertising.)

• Don’t believe someone just because they’re so charismatic they can charm the birds out of the trees. (Many a serial killer, psychopath, and garden-variety con man is charming and charismatic, after all…)

• Don’t believe someone just because they have 10 pages of glowing “performance” based testimonials (not just “golly gee whiz I really Really REALLY like your product and stuff” testimonials). Testimonials can (and often are) be faked and exaggerated.

• Don’t believe someone just because they have no bad reviews online, and it’s all good reviews.

• And so on, and so forth.

In short:

Don’t believe anyone using any of the above trust-building principles and tactics — yes, even though I highly suggest YOU use (most of) those same principles and tactics. (I certainly do.)

After all, they can be (and are) misused by the corrupted.

So, what can you believe?

In my humble (but accurate) opinion…

Demonstration.

It’s the single most powerful way to prove your case. And, it’s the single best way to prove someone isn’t full of crap.

Hey, want to know if I’m full of it?

It’s easy.

Take the stuff I teach (1) in these emails (2) on my podcast (3) on my “media page” (over a dozen hours of hard audio and video training on there, free) and (4) in the free “Email Players” issue you got when you subscribed to this list. (And before anyone asks… if you foolishly lost that issue, no I won’t send it to you again, I’m not your mother here to wipe your snot nose, you’ll have to sac up and re-subscribe).

Anyway, go ahead and apply the stuff I teach.

Did it work?

No?

Then don’t buy anything from me.

Seriously.

Save yo bling-bling.

I don’t claim to be the end-all, be-all.

Fact is, there are *many* people my stuff does NOT work for. Particularly, people who are uptight, afraid to try new things, (gasp!) offend anyone, incurable perfectionists, plagued with analysis paralysis, can’t make a move without permission, or who play to not lose instead of playing to win.

They’re much better off going somewhere else.

(To someone who will coddle and tolerate them, I won’t.)

But, what if my stuff did work?

Well, then keep using whatever you used, and if it makes financial sense (and you can afford the whopping $3.23 per day it costs) take off the training wheels, subscribe to my paid subscription “Email Players” newsletter, and implement what’s in there each month.

And you know what else?

You can apply this same criteria to anyone.

Is there a guru you want to learn from but, don’t know if they’re the real deal? Then apply the stuff they give away free (or buy one of their products) and apply it.

Did it work?

Good!

If not, move on.

Bottom line:

Don’t trust anyone.

Especially not someone who gives you similar information, setting themselves up as the kings who “knight” others as being good or bad guys. (Like I’m doing in this email, now that I think about it…)

We’re ALL guilty until proven innocent.

And, even then, forever on probation.

That’s the attitude I take.

And, you know what?

It’s saved me lots of time and money.

Go thou and do likewise.

Then, check out:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

In this “timely” Ben Settle Show podcast, we reveal…

• A secret website I write a column for that is a brilliant example of infotainment.

• Why it’s *always* the man’s fault. (I blame men for everything, even when it’s not our fault, and here’s why…)

• Why you must pay yourself first if you ever want to achieve financial independence. (And the 2 ways to do it: One is in money, but there’s also another — equally important — way hardly anyone ever talks about.)

• A book of parables that shows you exactly how to build wealth. (Thousands of people attribute this book as building their wealth. Here’s what it is called, and what’s inside…)

• How to inoculate yourself from unethical clients pushing you around and playing games with you because they know you want their fee.

• How to speed up the time it takes to get out of having to work at a job.

• How to cut in half the time it takes freelancers to be liberated from having to do client work and just sell their own stuff.

• How to become a super fast writer (I discovered this by complete accident, and it works like gangbusters to speed your writing up.)

• What to remove from your bedroom if you want a good night’s sleep. (When I took this item out of my bedroom I went from 5 hours of interrupted sleep to 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep and zero insomnia.)

• My plan for ushering in world peace.

• And a ho’ bunch mo’.

Grab your podcast love here:

www.BenSettleShow.com/antipreneur

Ben Settle

Tallyho:

For the past couple months I’ve been writing columns for another (non business focused) website on the sneak. I first saw this site last summer, immediately knew it would be a hit, and is a perfect example of how to implement infotainment to make your content stand out like a fart in study hall.

(But in a good way).

Anyway, several weeks ago I wrote about money.

And time.

And, how to be a master of both.

(Instead of being a slave to them, like most people are.)

What is this website?

Where can it be found?

And, what exactly did I write about?

Patience, my pet.

All your questions will be answered tomorrow on the latest “Ben Settle Show” podcast, which will be up bright and early.

I’ll shoot an email when it’s ready.

What should you do until then?

Do your part to beat the terrorists by listening to past shows:

www.BenSettleShow.com/antipreneur

Word up.

Ben Settle